Xi Jinping Thought Explained: A New Ideology for a New Era

Xi Jinping, foreground, at the Communist Party Congress in Beijing last fall. Xi Jinping Thought, the Chinese leader’s political philosophy, will soon be enshrined in the Constitution.Credit
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

China has a new official political doctrine.

It’s called
Xi Jinping Thought, and it is everywhere. Schools, newspapers, television, the internet, billboards and banners all trumpet the ideas of Mr. Xi, the country’s president and Communist Party leader.

Officially known as “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era,” the ideology will soon be given an even more prominent platform: the preamble of China’s Constitution.

Boiled down, the doctrine is a blueprint for consolidating and strengthening power at three levels: the nation, the party and Mr. Xi himself.

The doctine, like Mr. Xi, is not going anywhere soon. The Party on Sunday abolished the
presidential term limit, meaning Mr. Xi could remain in power indefinitely. Here’s your guide to understanding the ideas likely to guide China through the next decade, or possibly longer.

In recent decades, China has become the world’s second largest economy and a powerhouse of global trade and investment. Xi Jinping Thought promotes taking the next step, making China not only prosperous but also politically powerful.

“Never before have the Chinese people been so close to realizing their dreams,”
Mr. Xi
is often quoted as saying. Implicit in the dream of being counted among the world’s powers is the idea of China nearing the United States in strength and influence.

To sustain China’s global rise, Mr. Xi is
modernizing China’s military
and investing heavily in a $1 trillion international trade initiative known as Belt and Road. Under Mr. Xi, China has expanded the size and scope of its military, purged corrupt officers and built military installations in contested waters of the South China Sea.

The Party: China’s Best (and Only) Option

Mr. Xi leading the pledge of allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party.

FEB. 26, 2018

CCTV+

Mr. Xi’s nationalist message of China as a strong, highly respected world power resonates with many Chinese.

But the promise of national glory comes with a catch: single-party rule.

Xi Jinping Thought promotes the supremacy of the Communist Party to growing numbers of avid consumers, internet users and world travelers — a group fundamentally different from the workers and peasants who were supposed to be the soul of the Communist Revolution.

Mr. Xi’s philosophy teaches that the goal of a powerful, unified China can be achieved only if the Communist Party stays firmly in control of China. The party, he says, is the solution to China’s problems, not their source.

Under Xi Jinping, the Communist Party has sought new ways to maintain its grip on power and propagate its message, including using rap music.
Video by CGTN

Harping on the importance of one-party rule is not new in China. But Mr. Xi has taken aggressive steps to revitalize the Communist Party’s grip on business, the news media, the internet, culture and education. The influence of party permeates every corner of society — even rap music.

Photo

A political cartoon from The Global Times, a Communist Party newspaper. The image illustrated an article titled “Democracy: A Western tool for domination.”Credit
The Global Times

Official news media routinely point to the corruption and failings they see in Western democracies. “Why question the Communist Party when the alternative is chaos and corruption?” goes the message.

The Man: The National Patriarch

Communist Party propaganda links Mr. Xi not only to Mao Zedong, but to Confucius as well.Credit
Greg Baker/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The third piece of Xi Jinping Thought is Mr. Xi himself.

Central to the doctrine is the idea that for China to continue its global rise, and for the party to maintain its rule, a decisive leader is needed at the helm. And the man for the job is Mr. Xi.

Xi Jinping Thought was seen in action this week when the Communist Party announced it would abolish presidential term limits, allowing Mr. Xi to remain in power, perhaps indefinitely.

In propaganda, Mr. Xi is referred to as “lingxiu,” a
reverent Chinese word
for a leader that was also used for Mao Zedong. In official imagery he is portrayed as a visionary leader on a historic mission — brave, wise and decisive.

Xi Jinping Thought still reveres the teachings of Mao and Karl Marx, but it also links Mr. Xi to even older Chinese traditions, especially Confucianism.

Mao said he wanted to smash the grip of Confucius on China and ignite revolution. But Mr. Xi regularly quotes Confucius and other ancient sages, stressing their teachings on obedience and order, and promoting the idea that the party is the custodian of a 5,000-year-old civilization.

Party propaganda now even equates Mr. Xi to a Confucian patriarch who runs the country as if it were his own family.

And all good Confucian children must observe filial piety.

A version of this article appears in print on February 27, 2018, on Page A8 of the
New York edition
with the headline: Xi Doctrine Will Guide A Nation. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe

david g sutliff

An interesting aspect of Mr. Xi's thought to make China a world power is that for perhaps the first time in history, he could achieve that goal with out firing a shot. Or most likely without spending much on weapons at all. With all their trade links and investments around the world, who would give the Chinese any trouble? We, on the other hand, have lavished trillions on all manner of armament and only believe we are important in world affairs. Given our record of influence in, say, Viet Nam or the Middle East, a half century of weaponry has produced very little it would seem.

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Lil50

When I walk into shops around the world and hear Chinese rock music coming through the speakers, I will know China has surpassed the USA. The United States intellectual property exports are not counted in trade numbers because it is not a tangible good. We surpass all nations, even Saudi oil export, in IP trade. Unless China allows its citizens to create without fear, we have nothing to fear from China.

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Anym

Let's be honest, there is no basis in this packaged book called Xi Jinping Thought. The varied nature of this school of thought is reflective of the ambiguity in the current socioeconomic state of the PRC.

The Mao School of Thought was, however disagreeable it may be to some, a very clear socialist vision based on Marxist-Lennist thinking mixed in with some detached understanding of economic principles. Mao, was clear, on precisely what he wanted: a society free of bourgeoisie control, power to the peasants, egalitarianism, and lots of utopia imagery. He struggled to bring that vision to reality, but kept with the plan nevertheless.

What is the ideology that holds together Chinese society? That is an open ended question. There is no Little Red Book that every men, women, and child must recite. There is a lot of unambiguous state propaganda (e.g. Chinese Dream). There is no more of the socialist struggle that so defined the characteristics of the Mao Era. There is a lot of rampant capitalism, coupled with the usual problems that are brought on by a surge of capitalism.

This book is basically his own version of the Little Red Book. Albeit, without as much of the socialist struggle fervor that Mao infused his book with. In History, we are taught to recognize continuations and divergences. It is yet unclear just how many parallels to Mao that one may draw. However, the subtle accumulations of these parallels is definitely worrisome.

godfree

“Xi Jinping Thought .. is a blueprint for consolidating and strengthening power at three levels: the nation, the party and Mr. Xi himself"???

No, since Deng's Reform and Opening Doctrine will have run its 40-year course when all its goals are met in 2020, Xi Jinping Thought is simply a blueprint for the next 40 years.

Xi presented its outline–the worlds bestGINI index by 2039 and total world leadership in QOL, all sciences and technologies by 2049–at the 19th Party Congress last year and will fill in the details on June 1, 2021, the anniversary of the founding of the Party.

Our suspicion and hostility towards Xi and China stems, partly, from the fact that we have no goals and that, unlike China's wages which double every decade, ours have been falling since 1975.

LL

Jack K

This comment is a bit silly. World history tells us it's easier to catch up than to move ahead. Look at wage growth in Vietnam recently, maybe we should follow them.

This is a power grab too far, just when nations might seriously be looking to the Chinese government as something to be seriously considered. Mr. Xi's willingness to have the constitution changed to retain power is a warning to us all.

Of course, China as a nation will suffer the most when there is an economic downturn and people look around a realize there is no alternative and no end in sight.

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Bob

China recently surpassed the US to become the world's largest economy. They are militarizing the South China Sea, where bungling, crash-prone American Navy ships now fear to pass. China wants Taiwan and will take it, as they did Hong Kong. Meanwhile, American worry us about Iran (Bibi's nemesis) and Russia--now designated by some a "hostile foreign power"-- as if Russia is any more hostile than China, whose hackers infiltrate our computer systems as much or more, and whose military has expanded into much greater territory than any corner of Ukraine.

Forget Iran. Forget Russia. Xi Jinping's China is the only real threat, and the wiliest by far: they seem to want to be our friends, while impassively moving their chess pieces until one day, they will call: checkmate.

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Danny P

I currently teach in China and asked if my class new Xi Jinping thought in my lesson about neo-realism. Not a single high school student had any idea what I was talking about. That's the level of political disengagement by the public in China. Most of my chinese colleagues haven't heard anything about it either. The question of "why" is not something anyone seems to care about when it comes to the government because they know they aren't supposed to ask. But every single one of them heard about the coming of King Jinping, first of his name.

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Steve

Neo-realism is about opposition, race between powers. But chinese always propose cooperation. It's not strange that your student don't understand neo-realism.American may think that chinese are not supposed to ask, not allow to ask. But chinese trend to no need to ask because we trust our leader. I treat this as culture difference, no better or worse, but respect each other.

Prent

Millions of people all over the world wake up every morning and dream of moving to the US. Nobody dreams of moving to China. Even the Chine dream of moving to the US. There is only one superpower in this world.

Epistemology

Xi Jinping thought is Communism without the Western influence. Communism without Marx. He turns back to Confucius because Confucius was Chinese, and Papa Xi is tired of China being a Western dream.

China is heading for a fall this century. A robust middle class is death to autocrats. His success will be his undoing. But good for him, he decisively dragged his country out of poverty and restored their pride.

Chance

Xi has the support of the countryside, because if one travels there, they will see brand new infrastructure and poverty alleviation programs that are astounding, and being fair, very impressive and worthy of praise. The big question is "What about the educated middle class?". Everyone I know is scared, they all know growth is nowhere near the officially stated 6.7%, local governments are slowing down or near a standstill due to fear of making a mistake or coming into conflict with Xi Thought, there are no where near enough jobs to soak up the immense number of new graduates, and generally, all the sorts of things that traditionally confound or stall developing countries are prevalent. There's a reason the uber wealthy have been getting their money out of China for a decade. Anbang was a big washing machine, that's why the government snatched it up.

The situation is one for the USA to lose, which it's doing quite handily at the present moment. Getting out of the TPP was hugely stupid, the depths of stupidity that will become apparent in the coming years. Nothing is written, and the balance of world power just got a lot more complicated.

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Andrew

The 21st Century will be the Chinese Century. That die was cast on 9/11/2001. The response to the attacks demonstrated to the rest of the world that the U.S. lacks the capacity to lead without an existential foe like Nazi Germany or Soviet communism.

By the time the 2000s were finished, the U.S. had irreversibly bankrupted itself from wars and tax cuts, eroded most of its credibility and reputation, and caused a global economic crisis. Meanwhile, China grew its economy and strengthened its geopolitical position.

Osama Bin Laden allegedly predicted that the 9/11 attacks, which cost ~$350,000, would result in the ultimate undoing of the United States. Sadly, that prediction is proving accurate.

Tom osterman

The head of China has made a move to rework their constitution that limited his tenure to two 5 year terms meaning he is planning to be head for life. Guess who's next to try that stunt? How many red states are there in the U.S? 38 How many does it take to propose a Constitutional Amendment? Read the 5th amendment and look for an assault on that Amendment in the next 2 years. Who is in power in the Congress? Republicans both houses. and in a majority of states.

Look what they have in China - a leader wanting to stay in office for life, a friend of his that retired in a corruption fog now making a comeback and a billionaire developer in China seeking asylum in the U.S. while living in a 64 million condo in New York. Maybe we could make a swap! Xi can't control a billion and a half people forever.We think we have problems with Russia. If Xi is successful in changing their constitution it could become a digital WWIII with Russia on one end and China on the other and the U.s. smack in the middle.What we currently face in the U.S. makes 2018 and 2020 monumentally important along with Mueller's investigation.

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rexl

Mao was a nut, he was responsible for more deaths than Hitler or Stalin. To be held in the same light is insulting, and scary. Read his biography, Mao was a murderer that did not care a wit for his fellow China person, he cared only for Mao.

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Frank

I predicted this a couple of years ago - with 6000 years of totalitarian rule, the people of China are used to Emperors - and will tolerate them as long as they don't interfere with their personal money-making

the Faustian bargain - you can be 'boss' as long as I get to keep my money.

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kj

David

Wow, over 5,000 years of continuously un-elected leaders. It's an amazing accomplishment in 2018. Meanwhile, Taiwan is doing quite nicely and is a very enjoyable place to live since it evolved into that naughty election mayhem the communists so disdain.

Why is the West conducting any trade at all with a communist dictatorship? It's time to stop before we are all enslaved by that fanatic regime.

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Jon Galt

The Founding Fathers understood very well that power corrupts and designed the Constitution to prevent any such power grab as we are now seeing in China and the rest of the world. The right to bear arms is the second most important amendment, right after the freedom of speech, right to peaceful assembly and freedom of religion. Liberals are now witnessing what happens when the people have no ability to fight back.

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mhenriday

'The Founding Fathers understood very well that power corrupts and designed the Constitution to prevent any such power grab as we are now seeing in China and the rest of the world.' Astounding prescience on the part of the 'Founding Fathers', 'Jon Galt', given that no limitations on the number of terms a US president could serve was found in that country's constitution until 1947, when Republicans, distressed at the prospect of another FDR, passed the 22nd Amendment. In parliamentary systems in Europe, prime ministers, who lead the government, are generally not restricted as to the number of terms they can serve ; Tage Erlander here in Sweden served for 23 years, from 11 October 1946 to 14 October 1969, before retiring. But of course, we don't count....

Henri

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gary e. davis

Social evolution has proven that Grand Systems can’t adapt as well as demophilic constitutionalism, which is what Western “democracies” actually are: messy economies constrained by demophilic constitutions.

America WAS great. America IS great. And we LOVE the Chinese people, too.

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otherwise

There is one fly in your prescribed ointment. That fly in the ointment, so to speak, is the basic fact that more elaborate, more encompassing and more complicated systems are an example of social evolution. I am glad, however, that you recognize social evolution, since many conservatives refuse to acknowledge evolution of any sort. The modern trans-national corporation developed out of necessity. The problem now is to tame it.

One more thing. We cannot return to those thrilling days of yesteryear, by which I mean the Frontier Days which some conservatives seem to romanticize. It is not an option.

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Andy

You definitely have to take Xi's power consolidation within the unique context of Chinese history and culture. Are you familiar with the term "Mandate of Heaven?" Confucian thought certainly lends itself to this concept. The interesting evolution of particularly Chinese communism and administration isn't far off either. The simplest description I could find goes like this:

"The Mandate of Heaven (Tianming), also known as Heaven’s Mandate, was the divine source of authority and the right to rule of China’s early kings and emperors. The ancient god or divine force known as Heaven or Sky had selected this particular individual to rule on its behalf on earth. An important element of the mandate was that although the ruler had been given great power he also had a moral obligation to use it for the good of his people, if he did not then his state would suffer terrible disasters and he would lose the right to govern."

I feel this context helps explain the relative tranquility with which Chinese observers accept the new dictatorial status assumed by Xi. The arrangement is allowed but Xi's continuation is still highly conditional. Mao was granted an aberrant amount of licence for his failures. I doubt public opinion will treat Xi so injudiciously. When his time is over, his time is over.

techie

It reminds me of the phase "absolute power corrupts absolutely". When Mao took over power in 1949, he was a very rational person, and open to diverse opinion. That is why a lot of intellectuals supported him during the civil war. Then he went really crazy. Let us just hope that history would not repeat itself.

Chance

To use the words "rational", and "Mao" in the same sentence clearly indicates a non-understanding of Mao. Mao understood warfare, and brilliantly played the Japanese against the Nationalists, emerging only when the two had beaten each other to a pulp and the CPC could then push the Guomindang out of the country. After that, "liberation" was a tragedy of immeasurable suffering and death, with Mao promoting nothing but failed policies that killed tens of millions of his countrymen while he swam in his private swimming pool in Hangzhou and bedded young lovelies. Rational? No.

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Chinh Dao

Xi Jin-ping's ambitions have been detected from the beginning of his reign. His massive purge of opponents via the anti-corruption campaign, together with his encroachments into the Southeast Asian Seas, Indonesia, and Australia, have posed serious threats to the regional peace. President Barack Obama's pivot to Asia and TPP were arguably the best counter measures.The international war criminals in Zhongnanhai should have been controlled.

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